In a reminder that not every Kickstarter project is a blowout, last week the Arqball Spin project we've been keeping tabs on squeaked over the finish line, barely reaching its $40,000 target with mere hours to spare.

While I dig the technology, plan on using it and will pay whatever the service ends up costing, I wasn't sure the Arqball guys would hit their target. The $60 buy-in seemed kind of steep for the small turntable you'd get in return, particularly when the web is awash in DIY motorized turntable tutorials.

For example, here's one from a guy who kind of looks and sounds like Casey Affleck. He whipped his up for $25 and apparently did it while drinking a Sierra Nevada:

While I'd like to use Arqball's technology, the reason I didn't pledge for one of their turntables is because the objects I need to create Spins of—vintage sewing machines—weigh in excess of 30 pounds, and the Arqball turntable's cut-off is five pounds. If you're an ID student wanting to Spin something as heavy as a car clay model, you're in the same boat. So for those needing to DIY a turntable that can spin heavier stuff, here's a guy who whipped one up for about $40 using a rotisserie motor, a lazy Susan and some woodworking skills:

But the most impressive hack-up I've seen comes from the anonymous photographer behind the Cheesycam blog, who creates low-cost, DIY alternatives to expensive studio equipment. Said shooter needed to rotate an entire human being, up to several hundred pounds, and only had the small, lousy motor from a Ryobi cordless drill to do it. His ingenious creation uses mechanical advantage (and a cheap automotive hub bearing) to great effect:

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2 Comments

Try out Movense - http://www.movense.com. They are already providing the ability to capture Live Photos and 360 degree photography and creating collective media for several application fabulously easy and accessible by providing the turntable, software, editing tools and web hosting abilities to support and increase in online business.

HipStomp,
This story is awesome; I really wish more people in the world were DIY. I just wanted to plug this guy as well who managed to hack together a 7$ version of a spinner:
http://www.pocketables.net/2012/05/from-the-diy-drawer-arqball-spin-rotating-base.html.
One issue with all of these is that they do not rotate in 20.02seconds, so there will be a loop-point mismatch. Fortunately, we are working very hard at Arqball to overcome this and reliably determine loop-point no matter what stage is used.
RE the $60: I am with you. We are looking for cheaper ways to make these at scale, but it is surprising how much it costs to make something in qty~1000s in America. DIY is cool because human labor is not taken into consideration. When you consider that the cheapest alu tripods or Joby's etc are ~$20, and even the Glif! (an injection molded piece of plastic) is ~$20, you get the sense of what we are up against. Our stage has a 6063-alu housing that is CNCed and then powder-coated. The stage is direct-driven by a stepper motor, which requires a PCB etc. I fretted over the switch as well, because it had to be short enough and have the right throw. Of course a cap-sensitive protrusion-less design would be awesome, but alas out of time and cost.
Re:5lb: We are working on simpler stages that can handle up to 20lbs. As the last guy points out, the real trick is to use a mechanical advantage. In his case, he could make a stage that is 4ft in one dimension. Can't get that type of advantage in a 5" housing. We are using a gear-box to see what we can do.
best,
abhi

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